6/28/13

6/28/13, Beijing

Today in class we gave our final presentations answering the question “Can China Go Green?” It was interesting because the class was almost split between yes and no. For our presentation, Eileen and I talked about the progress China has already made. Unfortunately, it is projected by scientists that energy consumption will not peak by 2030, and that by the time China goes green it will be too late. Of course it is possible fore China to go green with a switch in priorities, but if it is a slow process it might not happen soon enough. I also want to say that China can go green because our species depends on it! It might be difficult, but it’s completely necessary if we want our species to survive. Some of the conversation was about how China should switch to a more service-based economy like the US did. This is one of the main ways we reduced our pollution and increased the safety of our air – by pushing our industries to other countries. I don’t think China should do the same. Although it would create better living conditions for people surrounding the current factories in China, it doesn’t seem to make sense to push these factories elsewhere.

The reason I think this is because China is currently producing more renewable energy technology than any other country in the world. If they push their factories to a different country, they will most likely continue to use coal to support the industry. It makes more sense to me to keep the factories where they are right now and retrofit them with new technology to make the processes cleaner and more efficient. As a planet we cannot handle any more pollution in our atmosphere. Moving industry to another country would only increase pollutants emitted as well as create more shipping miles to bring items back to the 1.3 billion people in China.